Page 71 of When We Fell Again
“Not.” I shook my head.
The punch that landed square on my jaw caught me off guard. Before I could defend myself, Felix shoved me to the floor, kicking me in the stomach. I howled out loud as he repeated the move. Grabbing my jacket, he hauled me up, raining more punches on my face and chest. Too out of it to react properly, I tried to dodge his fist but ended up on the floor again. A boot in my ribs had me rolling around in agony.
“This one’s for my brother. He might be here today if it wasn’t for you,” screamed Felix, landing a final kick.
Dexter.
Felix is Dexter’s brother.
The room started spinning and my vision began to blur. I needed to get out of there. Scrambling to my knees, I tried to pull my phone from my pocket, but Felix got there first, dropping it to the floor and crunching it under the heel of his boot before kicking it out of my reach.
“No one’s going to help you, like no one helped Dexter. He didn’t mean a thing to you, did he? Just a way to keep your habit going. And now here you are, another worthless junkie begging for your next fix, expecting to get it for free because you’re a big, famous rock star. Well, let me tell you, you’renothing.” He dragged me up by the lapels of my jacket, causing the pain in my ribs to intensify. “If only I could take some pictures and show the worldexactlywho you are.”
“I did try to help Dexter,” I protested. “I took him to the hospital, but it was too late.”
“Ha. Of course you did. Who wants their sordid little addiction exposed? It was easier to let him die, to beyourscapegoat.” Felix dropped his hold on me, pacing around the room.
Memories of that night flooded back into my mind, the horrific images I’d told Lex about front and centre. I had done everything I could, but he was too far gone.
“If I could have taken his place that night, I would have.”
Felix rounded on me, his spittle hitting my face. “I fucking wish you had.” He turned his back on me and stalked across the room, shaking out his fists, no doubt preparing for another beating.
Taking my chance I leaned down, wincing in agony, and grabbed my phone. I needed to get out of there, preferably before Felix broke every bone in my body, or worse. Before he could do anything else, I darted for the front door, fumbling with the lock, and opened it, running as fast as I could into the night. I could hear Felix shouting after me, but I’d managed to disappear around the corner before he got outside.
Every single part of my body screamed in pain, but I kept going. If I stopped, Felix would find me and I’d be dead. I don’t know how long it took me to get back to my house, but I didn’t care. When I got back, the door was locked. My keys were also in Bristol, and I had to resort to banging on the door.
“What the fuck… ?” Levi opened the door, rubbing his eyes. He focused, his mouth dropping open as he clocked the sight of me. “Jesus, Jordan. What happened?”
I barged past him and went straight to the kitchen, turning on the tap and drinking water straight from it without getting a glass. Levi followed me, leaning against the door frame.
“I thought you were in Bristol.”
“Yeah, well that didn’t exactly go to plan,” I forced out between sips of refreshing water. My head throbbed, a volatile cocktail of alcohol, cocaine, and pain. I groaned, straightening up.
Levi narrowed his eyes. “Even if you’re not going to tell me who did this, you need to see a doctor.”
I shook my head. “Not gonna happen.”
“Jordan…”
Blanking him, I pushed past him and headed upstairs as quickly as I could, each step more painful than the last. Slamming my bedroom door shut, I pulled off my jacket and curled up on the bed, staring at the shattered screen on my phone. I couldn’t even message Lex to tell her I was sorry. Darkness cloaked me, and I passed out, Lex’s beautiful face all I could focus on.
CHAPTER30
Alexis
The Dicers set lasted an eternity.
After I’d walked away from Jordan, I’d ended up at the side of the stage near Suki as she watched her boyfriend with stupid doe eyes. If she could still love Arlo after everything he’d done, I realised I’d been too harsh on Jordan. Deep down, I knew he had my best interests at heart and his actions had been done with good intent. I should have listened, should have understood, but instead, I’d left him.
I can be so dumb sometimes.
Once the band had played their encore, I waited for them to come off stage, smiling and saying words of encouragement. As soon as they’d gone back to the dressing room, I went straight back to the VIP area. A quick scan of the space told me Jordan wasn’t there. I waited for a few minutes, then checked my phone to see if he’d messaged me. Waving over the security guard, I asked him when he’d last seen Jordan.
“You told me he’d be leaving soon. I think he went a couple of songs into the set.”
My shoulders sagged. I’d thrown out that comment without actually thinking Jordan would leave. He’d probably gone back to the hotel. Thinking quickly, I did my final few tasks for the night, then told the sound techs and road crew I was going.
